Ballast tank housings for lighting assemblies are typically used in harsh or hazardous locations, as well as in standard location areas that may require “heavy-duty” lighting assemblies. The ballast tank housings protect the enclosed ballast from the detrimental and deteriorating effects of moisture, dirt, dust, corrosion, vibration, wind, water, snow, and other various foreign matter and harsh environmental conditions in which the lighting assemblies are used. Therefore, such lighting assemblies are ideal for use in manufacturing plants, chemical and petrochemical processing facilities, sewage treatment plants, off-shore and dockside installation, garages and storage facilities, as well as other industrial locations where protecting the housed ballast is desired.
One problem with most existing ballast tank housings is that an installer must support the ballast tank while attempting to thread a fastener from the ballast tank into the splice box. The installer must align fastener holes in both the splice box (lid) of the ballast tank housing and the body portion of the housing to be able to thread a fastener between the splice box and body. This task is made even more difficult when the installer must use a ladder to mount the lighting assembly to a support. A need exists for a locking assembly in which securing the lid to the body of the ballast housing is a simple and easy task.
Another problem with existing ballast tank housings for lighting assemblies is that either special tools are required to secure the lid to the body of the ballast tank housing, or the weight of body must be supported while trying to securely fasten the lid to the body. In the case of configurations requiring the weight of the tank to be supported, the installer must simultaneously attempt to start a screw into the lid, which is a difficult task as tank housings can weigh up to 45 pounds and are often installed in awkward locations. Existing locking assemblies are difficult or impossible to completely seal with tools generally carried by installers, such as a standard socket wrench or screwdriver. Due to the configuration of existing locking assemblies special tools are required, such as a deep socket wrench, that are not generally carried by the installer. Thus, an installer must ensure he has the proper special tools required to finish the installation, or the installation cannot be completed until the installer obtains the required special tools. This results in a difficult, time consuming and inefficient installation process. A need exists for a locking assembly for a ballast tank housing that does not require special tools to be installed, thereby saving time and money during the installation process.
Still another problem with some existing ballast tank housings for lighting assemblies is that the bolt of the locking assembly is fixed to the ballast tank housing, thereby preventing it from being rotated. Since the bolt cannot be rotated, the locking assembly can only be completely fastened by rotating a nut received on the fastener. As discussed above, some bolts are extremely long and standard socket wrenches bottom out before the locking assembly is completely fastened, thereby requiring a repeat trip by the installer with a deep socket wrench or a much slower box wrench to complete the fastening of the locking assembly. Also, many standard tools, such as screwdrivers and nutdrivers, cannot be used to fasten the locking assembly. Therefore, a need exists for a locking assembly that is quickly and easily fastened using standard tools.
Examples of existing locking assemblies are disclosed in the following U.S. Pat. No. 3,666,134 to Rauch; U.S. Pat. No. 4,470,623 to Judge, Jr.; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,719,540 to San George et al.
A need exists for an improved locking assembly for a ballast tank housing.